How Cirqlive and Naotech Helped Web Yeshiva Provide Jewish Education Globally Partner Case Study

Cisco Partner Ecosystem

Teaching Torah in a Brave New World: How CirQlive and Naotech Helped Web Yeshiva Provide Jewish Education Globally Partner Case Study

Allowing students from around the world to participate in interactive online learning using web-conferencing software.

Business Challenges EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Rabbi Chaim Brovender, the dean of Web Yeshiva, an online Torah education program WEB YESHIVA that grew out of a small, traditional brick-and-mortar facility in Jerusalem, had a vision: • WebYeshiva.org is the world’s first to make Jewish education accessible worldwide using the latest in Internet technology. fully interactive, online Torah study “At the time, even traditional brick and mortar universities like Harvard and Stanford were program on the web, using the latest offering online education,” says Brovender. He wanted to replicate the brick-and-mortar web-conferencing technology to offer experience where interactivity is essential to education, and where teachers could use real-time, interactive classes texts in addition to oral instruction.

BUSINESS CHALLENGES Brovender found web-conferencing that emulated the brick-and-mortar classroom • Make Jewish education accessible experience through interactive audio, webcams, chat and whiteboard. Further, online worldwide. Learning Management Systems (LMS) created the perfect platform for managing • Integrate the school’s learning archives, course materials, class information, calendars, grading, teacher information, management systems with web contacts, administration and finances. But using these off-the-shelf solutions in parallel conferencing software. was cumbersome, expensive and error prone. So Web Yeshiva turned to the Cisco Partner Ecosystem and worked with CirQlive, a Solution Partner in the Solution Partner Program PARTNER SOLUTIONS and Naotech, a certified Cisco Channel Partner to integrate LMS with web conferencing • Custom designed system to software on a Cisco platform. The solution had to be easy to use, secure and able to accommodate time zones, Jewish accommodate the specific demands of a traditional Jewish institution. holidays and the Jewish calendar. Most important, Web Yeshiva needed a secure, one-click way to manage the day-to-day • Simplified registration and course management. processes of online learning, including enrollment, verifying screen names, archiving and cancelling/rescheduling classes. BUSINESS RESULTS • Grew from less than 50 students to Partner Solutions thousands worldwide. CirQlive, a Cisco Solution Partner, was ready for Web Yeshiva’s challenge. According to • Alleviated confusion and horrendous Nachman Scharf, lead developer at CirQlive, “Web Yeshiva explained their needs, and we costs. knew right away that we had what they needed to move closer to their dream school.” • Secure solutions to avoid hacking. The solution: CirQlive Integrated Conferencing (GIC) for WebEx.

“It enabled us to take our brick and mortar school worldwide, recruit and serve more students, hire the best teachers and enhance education.”

– Rabbi Chaim Brovender, Web Yeshiva

Partner Case Study

After understanding the school’s needs, CirQlive presented a demonstration that not only showed Web Yeshiva that CirQlive knew what it was talking about, but also quelled the concerns of skeptics who had hoped for an off-the-shelf solution. And CirQlive didn’t just sit down with Web Yeshiva’s leaders, but with teachers and students too. Once everyone was in agreement, CirQlive had a deadline of just a few weeks to roll out the product. In addition to accommodating time zones, Jewish holidays and the Jewish calendar, the CirQlive solution simplified registration and enabled teachers/administrators to drop and add courses with ease.

“We have found the CirQlive team to be responsive, professional and enjoyable people to work with.”

– Olivier Schiffmann, Naotech Communication Group, Israel

Business Results CirQlive solved a key requirement: integrating WebEx with Web Yeshiva’s LMS. This joint effort enabled effective collaboration using WebEx technology in online learning environments, bringing a compelling offering to the education and corporate training markets. Today, Web Yeshiva offers the advantages of brick-and-mortar interaction while attracting students and teachers worldwide. The head rabbi of Poland is on the Your business. Our Ecosystem. faculty, and some of the world’s best Hebrew teachers – who happen to live in Israel – are instructing students located in Arizona! Create new revenue streams. Stand out from competitors. “From our perspective,” says Rabbi Brovender, “without CirQlive and Naotech there would be no institution.” Since opening its virtual doors in 2007, Web Yeshiva has Give your customers great added a variety of coursework – degree programs, adult courses, language classes service. Our partner ecosystem and more. “CirQlive and Naotech enabled this,” says Brovender. “On any given month can make it happen. we have about 1,000 students and 30 to 40 teachers, plus private tutoring.” Before this comprehensive solution, “there was confusion, unbearable costs and undoable administration,” notes Brovender. Thanks to Cisco Partner Ecosystem companies CirQlive and Naotech, Web Yeshiva has made geography is a thing of the past. “It’s outstanding,” he says. “We use the technology to make a better world.”

For More Information CirQlive is a Cisco Solution Partner offering integration solutions for all of your live online distance learning and corporate training needs. For more information, visit http://CirQlive.com or call: +1 973-521-5563 Naotech is a Cisco Gold Certified Partner specializing in advanced video- and audio-conferencing solutions for worldwide clients. For more information, visit www.naotech.com.

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